Data Center Smart Hands Technician

Job Title: Data Center Smart Hands Technician
Location (On-site, Remote, or Hybrid?): Rensselaer, NY (onsite)
Contract Duration: Contract until 03/21/2027

POSITION SUMMARY

• The goal is to identify an experienced, hands-on Smart Hands resource who has worked within a data center/infrastructure environment and can independently execute assigned activities while partnering with and following direction from remote network, server, and infrastructure engineering teams.
• While we do need someone with relevant experience who can operate independently onsite, this is not intended to be a formal team-lead, supervisory, people-management, or infrastructure-engineering/design position.
• The Data Center Smart Hands Technician provides onsite hands-on support for data center and infrastructure operations. The position performs routine physical and technical support activities involving servers, network equipment, racks, IDF/MDF closets, cabling, equipment installations and removals, hardware replacements, vendor activities, site inspections, equipment lifecycle activities, and related data center operational tasks.
• The ideal candidate will have previous Smart Hands, data center, server-room, or infrastructure-support experience and will be comfortable completing assigned work independently while following documented procedures and technical direction from remote engineering and infrastructure teams.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Perform routine data center, server-room, IDF, and MDF walkthroughs and identify/report equipment, environmental, security, cabling, or facility concerns.
• Support scheduled site audits, inspections, inventory validations, and operational checks.
• Provide onsite Smart Hands support for servers, network devices, racks, cabinets, IDF/MDF closets, and related infrastructure.
• Install, remove, rack, stack, label, and organize servers, switches, network devices, and other IT infrastructure equipment.
• Replace approved field-replaceable hardware components, including power supplies, hard drives, memory, fans, cables, and similar components.
• Trace, install, replace, label, test, and organize copper and fiber cabling.
• Perform cable management and maintain clean and organized racks, cabinets, patch panels, IDF/MDF closets, and data center spaces.
• Verify equipment status, power, indicator lights, ports, physical connections, and cabling during troubleshooting activities.
• Perform requested reboots, power cycles, visual inspections, connectivity checks, and basic diagnostic activities under direction from remote engineering or support teams.
• Support network equipment installation and replacement activities, including switches, routers, access points, and related infrastructure.
• Assist with server and infrastructure installations, moves, additions, changes, and removals.
• Support equipment decommissioning, asset validation, packing, equipment staging, and approved disposition/disposal activities.
• Coordinate and support scheduled equipment disposal pickups when required.
• Support hard-drive replacement, removal, handling, validation, and vendor-related activities in accordance with established security procedures.
• Escort authorized vendors and third-party service providers while work is performed within secured data center or infrastructure areas.
• Maintain the physical organization of data center, IDF/MDF, rack, cabinet, and equipment areas, including cleanup and removal of retired or abandoned equipment/cabling when authorized.
• Maintain accurate documentation of equipment locations, asset changes, cabling changes, hardware replacements, inspections, and work performed.
• Update incidents, service requests, change records, inventory/asset records, and associated tickets as required.
• Follow established data center, security, safety, access-control, change-management, and documentation procedures.
• Communicate site conditions, work status, issues, and exceptions clearly to remote engineering teams and local stakeholders.
• Provide onsite support for infrastructure refreshes, deployments, lifecycle activities, and related projects as required.
• Participate in the rotating after-hours/on-call schedule approximately every other week.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Approximately 2 5 years of hands-on Smart Hands, data center, server-room, infrastructure, network-support, or similar technical experience.
• Previous experience working within a data center, server room, IDF/MDF, colocation, or enterprise infrastructure environment.
• Experience installing, removing, organizing, or supporting servers, network equipment, racks, cabinets, and cabling.
• Working knowledge of copper and fiber cabling, patch panels, network ports, labeling, and basic cable troubleshooting.
• Experience replacing basic hardware components such as power supplies, drives, memory, fans, and cables.
• Familiarity with basic server, networking, rack, power, and cabling components.
• Ability to follow documented procedures and technical instructions from remote engineering, networking, and infrastructure teams.
• Ability to perform routine walkthroughs, equipment checks, inventory validations, and site inspections.
• Strong attention to detail and accurate documentation practices.
• Ability to work independently on assigned activities with limited onsite supervision.
• Strong communication and customer-service skills.
• Ability to safely lift, move, rack, and handle IT equipment in accordance with applicable safety guidelines.
• High school diploma or GED required.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience supporting Dell, HPE, Lenovo, Cisco, or similar enterprise infrastructure hardware.
• Familiarity with ServiceNow or another IT service-management/ticketing platform.
• Familiarity with incident, request, change, asset, inventory, and equipment-lifecycle processes.
• CompTIA A+, Network+, or similar technical certification is a plus, but not required.
• Associate degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field is a plus, but not required.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS / CLARIFICATIONS

• This is a fully onsite position in Rensselaer, NY.
• Remote and hybrid work are not available for this role.
• The resource must be able to participate in an approximately biweekly on-call rotation.
• Occasional after-hours or weekend support may be required based on operational needs.
• U.S. citizenship is not required for this position; however, the candidate must meet all applicable employment authorization and client/site-access requirements.